Today, August 28, the fourth day of the World Basketball Championship ended. Several important teams played their matches at the same time, but it was the matches of the less successful teams that were the richest in events.
Venezuela – Cape Verde
World Cup 2023 (m). Group F. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 11:00 Moscow time
Venezuela: Cubillan 15, Zamora 14, Soho 13, Chourio 8, Guillent 7, Colmenares 6, Carrera 5, Matheran 5, Ruiz 2, Vargas, Graterol, Sifontes
Cape Verde: Gomes – 22, Tavares – 20, Almeida – 18, Almeida – 6, Tavares – 6, Mendoza – 3, Lima – 2, Da Rosa – 2, Correia – 2, Mendes, Coronel, Gomes
Cape Verde is the smallest country that has ever competed in the Basketball World Cup. And today this team achieved its first and historic victory in the tournament, defeating Venezuela by 81:75.
Cape Verdean leader Edi Tavares of Real Madrid scored just six points but still contributed to his team’s success with 14 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals.
Eddie Tavares
Photo: fiba.basketball
Cape Verde’s top scorer was João Gomez with 22 points, Will Tavares added another 20. Venezuelan David Cubillan was the top scorer with 15 points.
China – South Sudan
World Cup 2023 (m). Group B. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 11:00 Moscow time
China: Anderson – 22, Zhao – 13, Zhou – 10, Zhao – 6, Cui – 6, Hu – 5, Peng – 5, Zhelin – 2, Hu, Zhu, Fu, Zhang
South Sudan: Jones – 21, Kuani – 16, Omot – 14, Shayok – 13, Deng – 12, Jock – 6, Gabriel – 3, Dech – 3, Maluaj – 1, Madut, Akuot, Bar
Another team that got the first victory in the tournament is South Sudan. This team suffered a disappointing loss in a crazy final against Puerto Rico and today they defeated China by 89:69.
Chicago point guard Midget Jones, who became the best player in the G-League last season, had 21 points and six assists. In addition to him, the African team had four more players who surpassed the 10-point barrier.
Well, Kyle Anderson (also known as Lee Kaier), who received Chinese citizenship at the end of July, rehabilitated himself after “zero” in his debut game and scored his first points for the national team. He has 22 points, five rebounds and three assists.
“We need to add. The big difference was in the three-point shots, where South Sudan was incredible today. They put us in a difficult position thanks to athleticism, growth and pressure under the basket,” China coach Sasha Djordjevic said after the second loss.
New Zealand – Jordan
World Cup 2023 (m). Group C. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 11:45 Moscow time
New Zealand
New Zealand: Moriouho-Leafa – 23, Islay – 15, Delaney – 14, Wetzel – 13, Fotu – 11, Ngatai – 9, Te Rangi – 7, Cameron – 3, Britt, Smith-Milner, Harris, Brown
Jordan: Hollis-Jefferson – 39, Ibrahim – 22, Al-Dwairi – 19, Abu Havwas – 4, Bzai – 3, Al-Hamarsheh, Hammouri, Shaher Hussein, Abbas, Abbas, Kanaan, Alnajdavi
The final between New Zealand and Jordan was so tense that the outcome of the match had to be decided in extra time. And although New Zealand still won (95:87), the unmistakable hero of the match was Jordan’s Roday Hollis-Jefferson.
15 seconds before the end of the game, he received the ball, rushed to someone else’s half, hit a three-pointer, and also got a free throw. And it was these four points that helped Jordan equalize and take the game to overtime.
Hollis-Jefferson finished the game with 39 points (12/24 from the field, 14/18 from free throw), which is currently the 2023 World Cup scoring record, along with nine rebounds and four assists. A curious detail: outwardly he looks a bit like Kobe Bryant, that’s why at the Manila stadium they chanted “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!
“It means a lot, it is a great honor. Of course, there is only one Kobe. But to feel this love and energy throughout the stretch and make such important shots… God was with me, and Kobe was with me, that’s for sure,” Roday said after the game.
Ivory Coast – Iran
World Cup 2023 (m). Group G. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 12:45 Moscow time
Ivory Coast: Zuzua – 17, Sidibe – 10, Dadier – 10, Diabaté – 9, Kone – 6, Ba – 6, Fofana – 4, Abuo – 3, Tap – 3, Dally – 3, Mulular, Fofana
Iran: Yakhshali – 19, Amini – 15, Haddadi – 9, Rezaeyfar – 7, Mashayehi – 5, Girguryan – 5, Kazemi – 5, Mirzai – 4, Vahedi, Agazhanpour, Agha Miri, Aliakbari
The fate of the meeting between the Ivory Coast and Iran was also decided at the decisive moment. Shortly before the final whistle, Iran led by a slim lead, but three straight free throws by Solo Diabaté helped his team to victory (71:69).
Diabaté went to the line after the coach of the Iranian team committed a technical foul. His men had six seconds to come back, but Behnam Yahchali’s decisive shot was inaccurate. Shortly before, Iran also suffered four defeats in five possessions and lost their main attacker Hamed Haddadi, who received a fifth personal booking and was forced to leave the field.
Yahchali led his team with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. The top scorer for Ivory Coast was Nisr Zuzua with 17 points and four rebounds.
Georgia – Slovenia
World Cup 2023 (m). Group F. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 14:30 Moscow time
Georgia: Mamukelashvili – 21, Jincharadze – 12, Shengelia – 9, Bitadze – 7, Tsintsadze – 5, McFadden – 5, Shermadini – 4, Andronikashvili – 2, Sanadze – 2, Luka, Turdziladze, Berishvili
Slovenia: Doncic – 34, Prepelic – 15, Zoran Dragic – 12, Tobi – 8, Blazic – 6, Hrovat – 6, Prepelic – 3, Nikolic – 2, Glas – 2, Samar, Dimets, Cebasek
Luka Doncic, star of the Slovenian team and of the entire World Cup, continued his brilliant performance in his team’s second game. To the 37 points scored against Venezuela, he added another 34 against Georgia, also defeated by Slovenia (67:88).
Luka also had 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals in 32 minutes on the court. Klemen Prepelic scored 15 points, Zoran Dragic – 12. Mike Tobey has eight points, six rebounds and three assists.
The only unpleasant moment for the Slovenians was the injury to Yaka Blazic. He spent only six minutes on site and will soon undergo an MRI diagnosis.
As for the Georgia team, San Antonio’s Sandro Mamukelashvili had 21 points and seven rebounds. Orlando’s Goga Bitadze had seven points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals each.
luka doncic
Photo: fiba.basketball
Puerto Rico-Serbia
World Cup 2023 (m). Group B. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 15:00 Moscow time
Puerto Rico: Pinheiro 14, Howard 13, Thompson 9, Ford 9, Waiters 9, Romero 8, Conditt 5, Ortiz 5, Holland 3, Toro Barea 2, Reyes, Thompson
Serbia: Jovic – 17, Bogdanovich – 17, Avramovich – 15, Milutinov – 12, Dobrich – 9, Jovic – 6, Marinkovic – 5, Guduric – 5, Ristic – 4, Davidovac – 2, Simanic – 2, Petrushev
The Serbian team got a second easy victory in the group stage. Leading “+30” at the end of the first half, the Serbs defeated the Puerto Rican team with a final score of 94:77.
Former CSKA player Nikola Milutinov shone in rebounding and ultimately notched a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds. Nikola Jovic and Bogdan Bogdanovich each scored 17 points, while Aleksa Avramovich added another 15.
But despite the certain victory, in the middle of the last quarter the advantage of the Serbs was reduced from “+30” to “+10″. “The result is fantastic because we won. But I can’t say we’re happy,” Jovic said.
A bit about the Puerto Rico team: George Conditt competed with Milutinov and collected 11 rebounds, while Isaiah Pinheiro and Jordan Howard became the most productive on their team, scoring 14 and 13 points respectively.
Greece – United States
World Cup 2023 (m). Group C. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 15:40 Moscow time
Greece: Papayiannis – 17, Rogkavopoulos – 14, Walkap – 9, Papapetrou – 9, Bohoridis – 8, Papanikolaou – 8, Larentsakis – 7, Luntsis – 4, Moraitis – 3, Antetokounbo – 2, Mitoglou, Hatzidakis
USA: Reeves – 15, Edwards – 13, Brunson – 13, Portis – 10, Haliburton – 9, Bridges – 9, Jackson – 9, Johnson – 8, Bankero – 8, Hart – 6, Ingram – 5, Kessler – 4
The American team easily made it out of the group, having won a crushing victory over the Greek team by 109:81. Where are you, Giannis Antetokounmpo?
In the first quarter, the advantage of the Americans was only four points, and already in the second it reached the mark of “+17”, and by the end of the quarter – to “+31”. Austin Reeves had 15 points, five rebounds and six assists, while Jaylen Brunson and Anthony Edwards each added 13 points. According to coach Steve Kerr, now his pupils hope to win the remaining six games and win the 2023 World Cup gold.
Well, the Greek team, which, we recall, is led by CSKA coach Dimitris Itoudis, today simply could not keep up with its rival. At the same time, Geogrios Papayannis scored 17 points, Nikolaos Rogkavopulos – 14.
“We couldn’t show the game we wanted. We wanted them to feel our presence on the pitch a little bit,” Itoudis said after the game.
Dimitris Itoudis
Photo: fiba.basketball
Brazil – Spain
World Cup 2023 (m). Group G. 1st round
August 28, 2023, Monday. 16:30 Moscow time
Brazil: Caboclo 15, dos Santos 14, Soares 9, Felicio 8, Santos 7, Meindl 7, Benite 6, De Paula 5, Diaz 5, Huertas 2, Neto, dos Anjos
Spain: Aldama – 15, Hernangomes – 14, Núñez – 13, Díaz – 11, Fernández – 8, Brizuela – 8, Garuba – 8, Hernangomes – 8, Claver – 7, Llule – 4, Abrines, Parra
The current world champions of the Spanish team inflicted on Brazil its first defeat in the tournament by 96:78. Now they are guaranteed to participate in stage 1/16 of the competition.
The Brazilians fought until the end: despite the fact that Spain was slightly better throughout the game, at the end of the third quarter the teams were separated by only five points. But a rush at the start of the fourth stint, which the Spaniards ultimately won 32-19, allowed them to win by a comfortable double-digit lead.
The best of the Spaniards was Santi Aldama from Memphis. He has 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. Willy Hernangomes scored 14 points, Juan Núñez – 13. A double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds for Brazil was scored by Bruno Caboclo.
It is interesting how this match would have developed if the leader of the Brazilian team, Raúl Neto, had not missed it. He was forced to withdraw from the World Cup after suffering a torn tendon in his knee against Iran and leaving the field on a stretcher. Yesterday, August 27, Neto underwent surgery.
The player was not present in the match against Spain, but before the kick-off, his teammates brought a shirt with his name onto the pitch.
